Ryder Chasin wrote about a day at a ballpark with his Dad. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Ryder Chasin, a 12-year-old seventh grader at Westport’s Coleytown Middle School, has won a national essay contest with a submission about a day at a ballpark with his father.

Ryan won in the Middle School category (sixth through eighth grades) of READ Magazine’s “Favorite Places, Special Spaces” essay contest.

Students were asked to write an essay not to exceed 500 words about a cherished locale. Ryder chose to write about a day at Shea Stadium with his father because he is “a huge Mets fan and it is [his] favorite place in the world.” 

He said he loves “the atmosphere and the feeling when the Mets have a good game.”

Six students at Westport’s Staples High School have been named 2009 National Merit Scholarship Finalists. They are: (back row, l-r) Mitchell Feinberg, Stephanie Gandelman, Willys Devoll, Anna Parmelee and Zoe Hughes; (front row) Emily Rosen. They were among 16,000 semifinalists named in September. The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the PSAT, a test which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.5 million entrants each year, and by meeting published program entry/participation requirements. These finalists will now be considered for Merit Scholarships. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Winners from the ninth annual Southern Connecticut Invitational Science & Engineering Fair posed for a photo after the weekend competition at Staples High School. A record 136 students from high schools in Darien, Greenwich, Westport and Woodbridge participated. Staples winners included Matthew Greenberg (front row, 1st. l.); Kyle Beatty (front row 2nd. l.); Nicole Tricarico (2nd row, 4th l.); Jessica Davis (3rd row, 2nd. l.), and Ben Myers (back row, 1st.l.). (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Staples Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Adele Cutrali-Valovich was among the performers tonight at the All City Orchestra Concert at Westport’s Coleytown Middle School. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Lawrence J. Zlatkin for WestportNow.com

The Westport Board of Education adopted a $95,968,657 budget Monday night, representing a 2.06 percent increase over the budget for the current year.

The budget includes $1,226,457 in program modifications proposed by the superintendent and adopted by the board before a standing room only crowd in the Staples High School cafeteria.

The reductions include a modification to the department chair model at the high school, the subject coordinator positions at the middle schools, and a modification to the speech and language program for a net savings of 3.5 administrative positions and $347,000.

Further savings were realized through the reduction of paraprofessionals in all fourth grade classrooms and the reduction of one-half of a paraprofessional at each of the school system’s elementary school libraries.

Congressman Jim Himes announced today that under the economic recovery plan currently being considered in Congress, Westport schools stand to receive $1,340,300 for modernization projects and to help meet the costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.

Of the anticipated funds, $177,300 would be designated for modernization construction—including funding to equip schools with labs and computers and to make schools more energy efficient—and $1,163,000 in IDEA special education grants to help children with special needs succeed, Himes said.

The Congressional Research Service estimates that, according to the first draft of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, schools in Himes’ 4th Congressional District would receive more than $65 million, his office said.

“Investing in education is critical to a long-term solution to the economic turmoil we currently face,” said Himes.

Elaine Whitney was sworn in today as a new member of the Westport Board of Education by Town Clerk Patty Strauss. The ceremony took place as the board held an all-day budget session at the Westport Public Library. Whitney, who holds an undergraduate degree from Yale and an MBA from Northwestern University, was co-president of the Long Lots Elementary School PTA. She succeeds Marjorie Cion, a Democrat, who resigned Dec. 1 when she was board chair. (See WestportNow Dec. 1, 2008) (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Citing difficult economic times, Westport Superintendent of Schools Elliott Landon tonight proposed a $96.4 million budget for 2009-2010, a 2.51 percent increase over the current year.
Elliott Landon: “A delicate balancing act.” Dave Matlow/WN file photo

“It was a delicate balancing act,” Landon told a meeting of the Board of Education.

He said the proposal reflects a 15.4 reduction in staff members, including 3.4 administrative positions, 5.0 teaching positions, 10.0 paraprofessional positions, 1.0 secretarial positions, and 4.0 bus driver positions.

He said elimination of four bus drivers for a savings of $211,000 would be achieved by moving up the start times by half an hour of Coleytown Elementary School and Coleytown Middle School.